Looking ahead

[Camino LS6]

Lately I've been considering just what sort of serious vehicle purchase will come next for me. And by serious, I mean one that isn't a project or so old as to be impractical as a daily driver.

At some point, I will need to replace the Tahoe and the ROPOS with a half-decent truck that I can plow with and use for all of the things I do workwise. But that can happen over time since the Tahoe now owes me some miles (and I like it).

The vehicle I am considering will have to be better on fuel than the Tahoe (not hard to do), be a manual, and be something I can enjoy when I drive it. It will also have to be low-mileage and long trip worthy since I am way overdue for some good road trips.

Sedans are out of the question, as are asian brands, and the price should be in the 10-15,000 dollar range.

I'd love to find a Solstice coupe, but it would rapidly become too rare for me to drive with abandon and without guilt. And, would cost too much to begin with.

Now I loved my GTO, and would have a hard time saying no to a good deal on one if I ran across it. But, being honest with myself, it wasn't too easy on fuel (even on highway trips).

So, I keep going back to the 98-2002 f-bodies as the most sensible option for me. They are a ball to drive, and can get near to 30MPG on the highway. If you look carefully enough, low-mileage examples are to be had at reasonable prices, and enough special versions exist that finding something interesting, and well-preserved , really isn't all that hard to do.

I'm still thinking it over, but another F-bod just might be in my not too distant future. I'll be clearing out the projects (or at least thinning them down) first, but another LS1 6spd. may be just what I need.

[AAS]

Watch out for the "roof bubbles" problem on 99-02 F-bodies. There's an issue with de-gassing of the adhesive used to hold the roof skin that causes bubbles/blisters in the paint on the roof, and the fix requires replacing the roof skin and using different adhesive. My car has it, and there's not much I can do about it since GM has run out of parts. If you happen to find a t-top car with the problem aftermarket parts do exist. (that same company also makes a t-top replacement roof cover, which they claim can be combined with the sail panel to replace the roof on non t-top cars but then the roof wouldn't look factory)

[Camino LS6]

I remember that issue.

[G. David Felt]

Why not look at a hybrid Tahoe or Yukon or even a Hybrid Saturn CUV. Those are all nice rides.

[Camino LS6]

Nah, they do nothing for me.

I'll always have a 4x4 on hand, but I don't need one every day.

And, I have to have another manual.

[Blake Noble]

I've barked up the fourth-gen F-Body tree more than I care to mention. Trust me, I know things might seem promising, but in reality 95 percent of what you're going to find out there is very, very disappointing. Most of what you'll find is overpriced, high mileage, ragged out, molested to hell and back, and has been patched back together by idiots after an accident. Clean examples with reasonable mileage are commanding stupid prices considering the condition of the used car market right now, and still somehow manage to sell quick.

Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about. First, here are a batch of fairly clean cars:

'02 Z28 Anniversary Edition, 22k miles, $17,995: http://pittsburgh.cr...2923468421.html

'96 Trans Am WS6, 51k miles, $13,995: http://pittsburgh.cr...2860311946.html

'97 Formula, 49k miles, $9300: http://pittsburgh.cr...2920202785.html

'02 Trans Am Anniversary/Final Edition, 7k miles, $24,995: http://pittsburgh.cr...2906804757.html

'00 Trans Am, 38k miles, $18,500: http://pittsburgh.cr...2896032078.html

'98 Trans Am Non-WS6, 15k miles, $18,000: http://pittsburgh.cr...2898534983.html

Here are the dogs:

'98 Formula, 146k miles, $6995: http://pittsburgh.cr...2860539501.html (Overpriced, high mileage, bad headlight motors. I also personally wouldn't trust it with those miles because I bet each and every one of them were hard.)

'00 Trans Am, 113k miles, $9000: http://pittsburgh.cr...2913679411.html (Molested to hell and back. High mileage as well. Neither of those two factors bode well for a decent everyday all-rounder. It's also overpriced.)

'99 Trans Am 'Vert, 75k miles, $14,500: http://pittsburgh.cr...2844643859.html (Molested, extremely overpriced, and getting up there in miles.)

'97 Z28, 81k miles, $8495: http://pittsburgh.cr...2901845847.html (Molested, overpriced, getting some age on it.)

'99 Z28, 116k miles, $6,500: http://pittsburgh.cr...2920772036.html (Average price and high mileage. Again, not a car I'd trust everyday.)

'98 Z28, 70k miles, $11,000: http://pittsburgh.cr...2904233753.html (Overpriced and molested to hell and back.)

And here's three of possible ill-repute:

'01 Trans Am WS6, 56k miles, $12,500: http://pittsburgh.cr...2895650281.html (The mileage and condition for the money is too good to be true considering the current market conditon. I'd almost bet good money it has a rebuilt or some other sort of branded title.)

'02 Trans Am, 38k miles, $13,000: http://pittsburgh.cr...2899143385.html (Again, the mileage and price are too good to be true because the owner had to go and dick around with the engine.)

'97 Z28 Anniversary Edition, 75k miles, $6,000: http://pittsburgh.cr...2902759020.html (Once again, the miles and price make it seem too good to be true. It also oddly seems to sit up too high in the photos.)

The '05 - '09 Mustang GT is in that particular price range you mention, but the fact it's so ubiquitous is enough to keep me away from one. I'm not a big of the way it handles, either.

Edited March 27, 2012 by black-knight

[Camino LS6]

I've found quite a few worthy candidates.

But I search in strange places.

I can find them, but I think the window of opportunity will close in about a year or so.

[!!!TED!!!]

Doooo iiit!

Plus, it's a hatchback...sooo practical...amiright?

[Blake Noble]

How do you feel about the Cobat SS/SC or SS/TC? I know it's front-drive, but the small lot of SS/SC cars I've driven were actually fairly decent handling cars and pretty fun to drive. The fuel economy isn't terrible either, as long as you don't mind paying out for premium gas. You'll also never run the risk of being stuck with a slushbox in one, too. I've seen SS/SC cars with lower mileage in good shape go for $11k. I'd remove or replace the rear spoiler if I had one, though.

There's also the GTi. A hot hatch is always a fun car to own. The Mk.V GTi runs about $14 grand with 50k to 70k miles.

There's always the E46 Coupe as well. One from around '02 to '03 with 75k miles and under should cost about $11 to $12 grand.

I don't have to tell you the market out there is growing extremely limited for enthusiasts on a budget who can't afford new or don't want to pay new car prices. It's just about hopeless. If your search for a worthy F4 T/A or Z28 car doesn't pan out, be prepared to go slightly outside your comfort zone to find a car that fits 3/4 of your criteria. Either that or beat your head against the wall trying to find a nice Jeep of some sort.

Edited March 27, 2012 by black-knight

[Camino LS6]

Doooo iiit!

Plus, it's a hatchback...sooo practical...amiright?

Quite right.

[Camino LS6]

How do you feel about the Cobat SS/SC or SS/TC? I know it's front-drive, but the small lot of SS/SC cars I've driven were actually fairly decent handling cars and pretty fun to drive. The fuel economy isn't terrible either, as long as you don't mind paying out for premium gas. You'll also never run the risk of being stuck with a slushbox in one, too. I've seen SS/SC cars with lower mileage in good shape go for $11k. I'd remove or replace the rear spoiler if I had one, though.

There's also the GTi. A hot hatch is always a fun car to own. The Mk.V GTi runs about $14 grand with 50k to 70k miles.

There's always the E46 Coupe as well. One from around '02 to '03 with 75k miles and under should cost about $11 to $12 grand.

I don't have to tell you the market out there is growing extremely limited for enthusiasts on a budget who can't afford new or don't want to pay new car prices. It's just about hopeless. If your search for a worthy F4 T/A or Z28 car doesn't pan out, be prepared to go slightly outside your comfort zone to find a car that fits 3/4 of your criteria. Either that or beat your head against the wall trying to find a nice Jeep of some sort.

Front drive is out of the question, now and forever.

An E-46 coupe might be tempting - if the right deal came along. But I'd probably go with a GTO instead.

Point is, nothing really outdoes the F-bods for the criteria I'm using.

[Camino LS6]

This one is probably a wuss-a-matic, but it shows that worthy stuff is out there.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/2923367177.html

[Intrepidation]

*cough*

http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/2921656279.html

[z28luvr01]

Do you need a back seat? If not, I'm sure a C5 Corvette could be had in that price range, maybe even in convertible form.

[Camino LS6]

Both tempting options...